Tape system with a longitudinal filament for slitting film

ABSTRACT

A vehicle is wrapped by an adhesive film which is then slit by applying first tape to the vehicle having a longitudinally extending filament carried by the tape at a position spaced from the side edges. A second tape is applied over the film at the first tape body so as to bridge to each side of the filament and pulling the filament so as to tear through the film and the first ad second tapes body with the second tape applying a force to the film acting to reduce tendency of the film to pull away from the object during the cutting by the filament as the filament is pulled.

This invention relates to a tape system with a longitudinally extendingfilament used for slitting film.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Popular customization of vehicles in some cases involves the applicationof an adhesive film to the exterior surface of the vehicle. Such a filmis readily available and is provided in sheets carrying a pressuresensitive adhesive covered by a release layer.

While the present application mentions specifically vehicles as an areawhere such films are used, it will be appreciated that many other usesof such self-adhesive films can be contemplated and are within the ambitof the present invention.

Some films are arranged to be printed with a required graphics to beapplied to the vehicle and a number of patents of the present applicantdescribe the slitting of such films.

Another type of film which is often applied to vehicles is known asstone guard which applies a hard coating to the vehicle surface toprevent stone chips.

One issue which remains a difficulty is that of cutting the film atrequired locations so that the film terminates at the edge of a panel orat any other required location on the vehicle.

The patents of the present Applicant provide an arrangement whichsatisfactorily cuts or slits the graphics film and has been widelyadopted as a system for use in this field.

Some films such as the stone guard type product are more difficult toapply and are more difficult to slit when applied. Often these use awetted surface of the vehicle to assist the application and to improvethe adhesion when applied, but this makes slitting of the film moredifficult so that the slit formed by a filament fails to provide therequired clean effective cuts and can leave unacceptable jagged edges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the invention to provide a tape system for slittingfilm.

According to the invention there is provided a tape system for cutting afilm comprising:

a first tape body of an extensible material having a front surface, arear surface, a first longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinalside edge;

the first tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface forattachment to an object;

the front surface of the first tape body being free from adhesive andhaving a release characteristic relative to pressure sensitive adhesivesuch that the pressure sensitive adhesive can be contacted onto thefront surface of the tape and pulled away;

the first tape body having a longitudinally extending filament carriedthereby;

a second tape body of an extensible material having a front surface, arear surface, a second longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinalside edge;

the second tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface forattachment to the film when applied over the first tape body;

the second tape body having a width arranged such that the second tapebody when applied over the film at the first tape body bridges to eachside of the filament on the first tape body underneath the film;

wherein the filament and the second tape body are arranged such that thefilament when pulled tears through the second tape body along the lengthof the second tape body at its position at the second tape body spacedfrom both side edges.

Preferably the filament comprises a metal wire which is as fine aspossible to provide the best cutting action and therefore has preferablya diameter less than 0.005 inch or in the range 0.0025 to 0.005 inch.

Preferably the filament is attached to the first tape body at a positionthereon spaced from both the first and second side edges which allowsbending of the first tape body while the first tape body remains flat ina first side to side direction by extension of the first tape body alongthe second longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and to thefirst longitudinal side edge and in a second side to side direction byextension of the tape along the first longitudinal side edge relative tothe filament and to the second longitudinal side edge. However thefilament can be pulled from one edge provided it slits through thesecond tape which must bridge either side of the filament to hold thefilm down.

Thus preferably the filament and the first tape body are arranged suchthat, with the rear surface of the first tape body attached to theobject, the filament when pulled tears through the first tape body alongthe length of the first tape body at its position on the first tape bodyspaced from both side edges rather than pulling out from one side edgeof the tape body.

Preferably each tape body has a width less than 0.25 inches with thefirst tape often being as narrow as 0.125 inch and the second tape beingwider and commonly as much as 0.25 inch.

Preferably the first tape body carries a single filament which is allthat is required in this preferred method. However for other uses morethan one filament can be included.

Preferably the filament is located in the adhesive on the rear surface.However as an alternative structure, the first tape body may have afirst substrate layer overlying and laminated by an adhesive to a secondsubstrate layer where the longitudinally extending filament is locatedbetween the first and second substrate layers.

Preferably the first and second tape bodies are formed of the samematerial which is of a character which allows the material to sliteasily when the filament is pulled through.

Preferably the second tape body has a length so that an end thereofextends beyond the first tape body and a start edge of the film toengage the object and hold the film onto the object when the slittingaction is started at one edge.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a methodfor cutting a film when applied by an adhesive to an object comprising:

applying first tape body to the object;

the first tape body comprising an extensible material having a frontsurface, a rear surface, a first longitudinal side edge and a secondlongitudinal side edge;

the first tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface forattachment to the object;

the front surface of the first tape body being free from adhesive andhaving a release characteristic relative to the adhesive;

the first tape body having a longitudinally extending filament carriedthereby;

applying a second tape body over the film at the first tape body so asto bridge to each side of the filament of the first tape body underneaththe film;

the second tape body comprising an extensible material having a frontsurface, a rear surface, a second longitudinal side edge and a secondlongitudinal side edge;

the second tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface forattachment to the film;

and pulling the filament so as to tear through the film and the secondtape body along the length of the second tape body at its position onthe second tape body spaced from both side edges.

In this arrangement preferably the second tape body applies a force tothe film acting to reduce tendency of the film to pull away from theobject during the cutting by the filament as the filament is pulled.This reduces the tendency of the film to bunch up as the filament ispulled. Such bunching increases the loading on the filament temporarilywhich can cause it to break. While a very fine wire filament of lessthan 0.005 inch and preferably less than 0.003 inch is preferred toprovide the best cutting action, this can only be used if the loads onthe filament do not temporarily reach a level where the filament canbreak. Thus without the use of this hold down system, the filament mustbe thicker to tolerate the loads and the thicker filament reduces thequality of the cut line and leads to higher cutting forces.

The second tape tends to retain the film flat against the surface of theobject so that the very fine filament acts to tear right at the surfacewithout any ability to move side to side relative to the intended cutline on the film which can cause jagged side edges to the slit.

This method is particularly applicable to a film of the type such asstone guard films which are typically applied with an application ofwater to the object. This water temporarily reduces the tack of theadhesive allowing the film to be applied while being stretched and movedas required to be tailored to the contours of the surface. As the wateris removed or dries out, the adhesive increases in action to apply astrong retention force necessary in the area where the stone guard filmis applied. However this reduction in the tack of the adhesive of thefilm allows it to lift from the surface during the slitting action

Preferably the second tape body is laid so as to extend beyond an end ofthe first tape body and an edge of the film to engage the object andhold the film onto the object during the start of the cutting action.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided amethod for cutting a film when applied by an adhesive to an objectcomprising:

applying tape body to the object;

the tape body comprising an extensible material having a front surface,a rear surface, a first longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinalside edge;

the tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface for attachment tothe object;

the front surface of the tape body being free from adhesive and having arelease characteristic relative to the adhesive;

pulling the filament so as to tear through the film;

and applying a force to the film acting to reduce tendency of the filmto pull away from the object during the cutting by the filament as thefilament is pulled.

In some preferred arrangements the filament is arranged at a distancefrom both side edges which allows bending of the tape while the taperemains flat in a first side to side direction by extension of the tapealong the second longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and tothe first longitudinal side edge and in a second side to side directionby extension of the tape along the first longitudinal side edge relativeto the filament and to the second longitudinal side edge. However a tapewith the filament attached at one edge can also be used

In this arrangement preferably the filament and the tape body arearranged such that, with the rear surface of the second substrate layerattached to the object, the filament when pulled tears through the firstsubstrate layer of the tape body along the length of the tape body atits position on the tape body spaced from both side edges so as to leaveon one side of the position a first portion of the first substrate layerincluding the first side edge which remains attached to the secondsubstrate layer and so as to leave on an opposite side of the position asecond portion of the first substrate layer including the second sideedge which remains attached to the second substrate layer, rather thanpulling out from one side edge of the tape body.

Typically the adhesive on the tape has the characteristic that the tapebody can be pulled from a surface of the object without leaving anadhesive residue and without damaging the surface.

The filament is carried in or on the adhesive on the rear surface. Inthis case, the adhesive is arranged to hold the filament in place on thetape during bending of the tape while the tape is applied to the surfaceand while the filament is being pulled to effect the cutting of thefilm. In this case, the filament when carried on the adhesive has acoating material compatible with the adhesive for generating an improvedadhesion between the filament and the adhesive.

In an alternative arrangement, the adhesive is applied onto thesubstrate over the filament to hold the filament against the surface ofthe substrate.

As the filament is spaced from the first and second side edges and thetape has a width arranged such that the filament tears through the tapealong the length of the tape, when pulled to cut the film, rather thanpulling from one side edge of the tape, the tearing of the tape leaves aportion of the tape along the first side edge underneath the edge of thefilm which is removed after the film is cut and the edge laid flat onthe surface. In this case, preferably the tape is colored to visuallydistinguish the portion of the tape from the film.

In some cases a primer is applied to the surface at least underneath thetape for increased attachment of the edge of the film to the surface andthe adhesive of the tape preferably has the characteristic that the tapecan be pulled from the primer on the surface of the object withoutleaving a residue of the adhesive and without damaging the primersurface.

Preferably the tape is formed of a plastics material allowing stretch ofthe tape greater than that of the filament. Preferably the tape isformed of a PVC. Preferably the pressure sensitive adhesive on the tapeis rubber based as this can provide the required properties of adhesionand subsequent removal of the tape.

Preferably the tape carries a release coating on the front surfacehaving a release characteristic relative to the pressure sensitiveadhesive on the film such that the pressure sensitive adhesive on thefilm can be contacted onto the front surface of the tape and pulled awayfor repositioning without dislodging the tape from the object.

The tape can be used in a method which can include printing onto asecond opposed surface of the film a pattern to be wrapped onto theobject so as to apply the pattern around a part of the object and overthe panel.

The tape can be used in a method which can be used to apply varioustypes of film such as vinyl to vehicles. This can include large sheetsor panels which are used to wrap or can include stripe packages thatalso require cutting. Some vehicles have reflective vinyl striping downboth sides, so the stripe must be cut around the wheel wells, doorhandles and the like. Pinstripes on cars, trucks etc, also requirecutting and again this application would alleviate the use of a knife.All applications can be done using various types of vinyl, perhapsprinted or unprinted.

The tape may include a substrate with the adhesive applied to onesurface of the substrate, or the tape may comprise simply an adhesivematerial with the filament attached thereto or embedded therein.

The filament can be formed of any suitable material which has sufficientstrength to carry out the cutting action when pulled without breakingand a sufficient cutting action to effect cutting and not tearing thefilm. Metal wire is typically suitable. Other materials such as carbonfiber or Kevlar fiber can be used.

Preferably the tape has a width less than 0.25 inches so that the barepiece or strip at the edge of the panel and at the edge of the adjacentportion is as narrow as possible.

The absence of adhesive on the front surface of the tape can be used toallow the film position to be adjusted on the panel and on the object sothat it is properly placed and located without creases or folds orbubbles while aligning printed images from different sheets as required.Thus the pressure sensitive adhesive on the film itself is used toattach the film to all locations and the release coating is of acharacter that the film can be pulled back and re-located when requiredwithout dislodging the tape from the object.

Films of this type are available with a release layer from supplierssuch as 3M and can be printed with the pattern at the place ofapplication using designs supplied by a customer.

The object is typically a vehicle or boat or other transportation deviceincluding automobiles, vans, buses and the like. In this case the panelis typically a door or trunk lid.

The area to be left uncovered can be any area of a surface of the objectsuch as a door handle, gas filler cap or the like. In this case thewhole surface of the vehicle or other object is to be covered butincludes such areas which cannot be covered without interfering with theoperation.

However other objects can be covered where the problem of doors or otherpanels and the problem of areas to be left uncovered is to be resolvedusing the above invention. The film typically wraps around at least aside of the vehicle where the hinged panel is a door and around a rearof the vehicle where a second hinged panel is provided and covered usingthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view through one embodiments of tape systemfor use in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a surface of an object to becovered vehicle showing film and the two tapes of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The method of the present invention uses the tape and concepts disclosedin for example U.S. Pat. No. 8,361,615 issued Jan. 29, 2013 and assignedto the present Applicant, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference or may be referenced for further details of the tapeand concepts.

In that patent shown a vehicle, such as a panel van, including a sidepanel with a door and a rear panel and including hinged panel 14 in theform of a pair of rear doors 14A and 14B.

It is intended that a film should be wrapped around the vehicles tocover parts of the vehicle, particularly where stone chips may occur.The film can be supplied as a single sheet but typically will be formedin smaller sheets which are butted edge to edge or slightly overlappingto cover as much of the vehicle as is required.

The vehicle includes a number of hinged panels such as doors, trunk lidand hood which can move from a closed position in which an edge of thepanel abuts an adjacent edge portion of the vehicle.

Typically as the sheet is supplied in flat form and the vehicle surfaceis extensively contoured, it is necessary to pull and stretch the filmto fit the surface. This typically includes, in extreme locations, theapplication of heat from a heat gun to the sheet 18 and generallyincludes the repeated steps of pulling the sheet, applying ittemporarily over the surface, removing the sheet for further pulling andreapplying the sheet until it is applied in a contour fit conditionagainst the vehicle with no bubbles.

In order to effect cutting of the film at the edges and there isprovided a tape 10 shown in FIG. 1 having a front surface 11, a rearsurface 12, a first longitudinal side edge 13 and a second longitudinalside edge 14. The tape has an adhesive layer 15 on the rear surface 12for attachment to the object. The tape 10 is free from adhesive on thefront surface 11 which instead has a release characteristic allowing itto release from or to repel adhesive such as the adhesive 9 on the sheet8. This release characteristic is typically provided by an actualcoating but can be provided by the characteristics of the substrateitself or by a co-extruded layer on the substrate. The release coatingis not intended to be removed and is not therefore a removable peel awaysheet. The tape 10 carries a filament 16.

The filament 16 can be located along one longitudinal side edge 13 or 14but preferably is located along a line part way or mid way across thetape spaced from both the first and second longitudinal side edges.

In FIG. 1, the filament is simply applied onto the adhesive layer 15 andis attached thereto. Thus the filament can be simply attached to apre-existing tape. Typically the thickness of the tape base or substrateand the adhesive is of the order of 0.002 to 0.005 inches and thediameter of the filament is of the order of 0.0025 to 0.005 inches sothat the filament stands up from the adhesive and is not buried orimplanted in the adhesive material. However the selection of theadhesive and the filament is such that it remains attached during thestep of the method up to the pulling of the tape to cut the film.

The adhesive may be applied after the filament is laid on the tapesubstrate and thus covers over the filament providing an enhancedattachment where required.

The filament may carry a pre-applied adhesive or primer material whichco-operates with the adhesive 35 providing an enhanced attachment whererequired.

An alternative construction can be provided which includes two substratelayers and laminated together by a laminating adhesive with the filament16 captured between the layers and thus held in place. The layer carrieson its rear surface the adhesive and the layer carries on its frontsurface the release coat. The laminating adhesive has to be such that itallows the filament to release from it. The filament could be treated toprevent becoming fixed to the adhesive if say the laminating adhesivewas the cross linkable type. This is not an issue if pressure sensitiveadhesive is used for the laminating adhesive.

The tape has a width in the range 0.060 to 0.500 inches and ispreferably less than 0.25 inches.

The tape is extensible to a degree so as to allow bending to at leastone side by extension along the opposite side. Thus the tape can bend toeach side through any angle to take up a minimum inside radius ofcurvature of the order of 0.157 inches. This allows it to be bent orwrapped around elements on the vehicle such as door handles and otheritems previously described while the tape remains flat against thevehicle surface and attached to the vehicle surface by its layer ofadhesive.

As shown the filament is spaced from both side edges to allow bending inboth directions. As the filament is located in the middle as shown, thetape is symmetrical and will bend equally in each direction. Typicallythe filament is less extendible than the tape since longitudinalextension of the filament in the longitudinal direction is undesirableduring the pulling action.

The adhesive thus acts to hold the filament in place on the tape duringbending of the tape while the tape is applied to the surface and whilethe filament is being pulled to effect the cutting of the film.

The tape is formed of a plastics or filmic material allowing stretch ofthe tape greater than that of the filament and preferably the tape isformed of a PVC which has been found to provide the best characteristicsof strength, co-operation with film adhesive, elongation and cleancutting of the film.

The arrangement of the present invention provides a tape system forcutting a film which includes the first tape 10 and the filament 16. Thearrangement further provides a second tape 20 formed by a body of anextensible material having a front surface 21, a rear surface 22, afirst longitudinal side edge 23 and a second longitudinal side edge 24.The second tape body has an adhesive 25 on the rear surface 22 forattachment to the film when applied over the first tape body so that thesecond tape body. The second tape body has a width greater than that ofthe first tape arranged such that the second tape body when applied overthe film at the first tape body bridges to each side of the filament onthe first tape body underneath the film. The film forming the secondtape is arranged such that the filament when pulled tears through thesecond tape body along the length of the second tape body at itsposition at the second tape body spaced from both side edges. This hasbeen found to provide an effective clean cutting action on the film withlittle or no jagged edges and little or no pulling of the film which cancause bunching.

As explained above, the filament 16 is attached to the first tape 10 ata position thereon spaced from both the first and second side edgeswhich allows bending of the first tape body as indicated at 101, 102while the first tape body remains flat in a first side to side directionby extension of the first tape body along the second longitudinal sideedge relative to the filament and to the first longitudinal side edgeand in a second side to side direction by extension of the tape alongthe first longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and to thesecond longitudinal side edge.

As explained previously, the filament 16 and the first tape 10 arearranged such that, with the rear surface of the first tape bodyattached to the object, the filament when pulled as indicated at P tearsthrough the first tape body along the length of the first tape body atits position on the first tape body spaced from both side edges ratherthan pulling out from one side edge of the tape body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the filament 16 is located in the adhesive 12 on therear surface of the tape 10. The adhesive is thus arranged to hold thefilament in place on the first tape body during bending of the firsttape body while the first tape body is applied to the surface and whilethe filament is being pulled to tear through the first tape body. As analternative (not shown) the first tape body has a first substrate layeroverlying and laminated by an adhesive to a second substrate layer andthe longitudinally extending filament is located between the first andsecond substrate layers. This acts to better locate the filament andhold it in place.

In an alternative (not shown) the filament 16 is attached to the firsttape 10 body at one of said first and second side edges.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second tape 20 has a length L so that an end 27extends beyond the end 103 of the first tape 10 and beyond an edge 81 ofthe film 8 to engage the object and hold the film onto the object O.

The second tape 20 thus acts to apply a force to the film acting toreduce tendency of the film to pull away from the object during thecutting by the filament as the filament is pulled. It is also possibleto apply the force by different methods such as by pressing an objectsuch as a roller onto the film at the location where the pulling force Pis applied.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A tape system for cutting a film comprising: a first tape body of an extensible material having a front surface, a rear surface, a first longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinal side edge; the first tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface for attachment to an object; the front surface of the first tape body being free from adhesive and having a release characteristic relative to pressure sensitive adhesive such that the pressure sensitive adhesive can be contacted onto the front surface of the tape and pulled away; the first tape body having a longitudinally extending filament carried thereby; a second tape body of an extensible material having a front surface, a rear surface, a first longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinal side edge; the second tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface for attachment to the film when applied over the first tape body; the second tape body having a width arranged such that the second tape body when applied over the film at the first tape body bridges to each side of the filament on the first tape body underneath the film; wherein the filament and the second tape body are arranged such that the filament when pulled tears through the second tape body along the length of the second tape body at its position at the second tape body spaced from both side edges.
 2. The tape system according to claim 1 wherein the filament comprises a metal wire having a diameter less than 0.005 inch.
 3. The tape system according to claim 1 wherein the filament comprises a metal wire having a diameter in the range 0.0025 to 0.005 inch.
 4. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the filament is attached to the first tape body at a position thereon spaced from both the first and second side edges which allows bending of the first tape body while the first tape body remains flat in a first side to side direction by extension of the first tape body along the second longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and to the first longitudinal side edge and in a second side to side direction by extension of the tape along the first longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and to the second longitudinal side edge.
 5. The tape according to claim 2 wherein the filament and the first tape body are arranged such that, with the rear surface of the first tape body attached to the object, the filament when pulled tears through the first tape body along the length of the first tape body at its position on the first tape body spaced from both side edges rather than pulling out from one side edge of the tape body.
 6. The tape according to claim 1 wherein each tape body has a width less than 0.25 inches.
 7. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the first tape body carries a single filament.
 8. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the filament is located in the adhesive on the rear surface.
 9. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the adhesive is arranged to hold the filament in place on the first tape body during bending of the first tape body while the first tape body is applied to the surface and while the filament is being pulled to tear through the first tape body.
 10. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the first tape body has a first substrate layer overlying and laminated by an adhesive to a second substrate layer and the longitudinally extending filament is located between the first and second substrate layers.
 11. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the first tape body is arranged for use in wrapping a surface of an object with a film carrying a pressure sensitive adhesive on one surface by which the film is to be attached to the object such that the filament can be pulled from the first tape body though that part of the film over the first tape body so as to cut the film and to form a cut edge of the film.
 12. The tape according to claim 1 wherein the filament is attached to the first tape body at one of said first and second side edges.
 13. The tape system according to claim 1 wherein the first and second tape bodies are formed of the same material.
 14. The tape system according to claim 1 wherein the second tape body has a length so that an end thereof extends beyond the first tape body and the film to engage the object and hold the film onto the object.
 15. A method for cutting a film when applied by an adhesive to an object comprising: applying first tape body to the object; the first tape body comprising an extensible material having a front surface, a rear surface, a first longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinal side edge; the first tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface for attachment to the object; the front surface of the first tape body being free from adhesive and having a release characteristic relative to the adhesive; the first tape body having a longitudinally extending filament carried thereby; applying a second tape body over the film at the first tape body so as to bridge to each side of the filament of the first tape body underneath the film; the second tape body comprising an extensible material having a front surface, a rear surface, a second longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinal side edge; the second tape body having an adhesive on the rear surface for attachment to the film; and pulling the filament so as to tear through the film and the second tape body along the length of the second tape body at its position on the second tape body spaced from both side edges.
 16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the second tape body applies a force to the film acting to reduce tendency of the film to pull away from the object during the cutting by the filament as the filament is pulled.
 17. The method according to claim 15 wherein the film is applied with an application of water to the object.
 18. The method according to claim 15 wherein the film is a stone guard film.
 19. The method according to claim 15 wherein the second tape body is laid so as to extend beyond an end of the first tape body and an edge of the film to engage the object and hold the film onto the object.
 20. The method according to claim 15 wherein the filament comprises a metal wire having a diameter less than 0.005 inch.
 21. The method according to claim 15 wherein the filament comprises a metal wire having a diameter in the range 0.0025 to 0.005 inch.
 22. The method according to claim 15 wherein the filament is attached to the first tape body at a position thereon spaced from both the first and second side edges which allows bending of the first tape body while the first tape body remains flat in a first side to side direction by extension of the first tape body along the second longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and to the first longitudinal side edge and in a second side to side direction by extension of the tape along the first longitudinal side edge relative to the filament and to the second longitudinal side edge.
 23. The method according to claim 15 wherein the filament and the first tape body are arranged such that, with the rear surface of the first tape body attached to the object, the filament when pulled tears through the first tape body along the length of the first tape body at its position on the first tape body spaced from both side edges rather than pulling out from one side edge of the tape body.
 24. The method according to claim 15 wherein each tape body has a width less than 0.25 inches.
 25. The method according to claim 15 wherein the first tape body carries a single filament.
 26. The method according to claim 15 wherein the filament is located in the adhesive on the rear surface.
 27. The method according to claim 15 wherein the adhesive is arranged to hold the filament in place on the first tape body during bending of the first tape body while the first tape body is applied to the surface and while the filament is being pulled to tear through the first tape body.
 28. The method according to claim 15 wherein the filament is attached to the first tape body at one of said first and second side edges.
 29. The method according to claim 15 wherein the first and second tape bodies are formed of the same material. 